Banks must do better for scam victims

Given the banks’ paltry response to customers robbed by scammers, reimbursing only 7 per cent, the 93 per cent who lose their money must be wondering why the ACCC is refusing to reveal which banks are most vulnerable to scams (“Silence of ACCC on banks hit by scams”, October 28). Surely it’s in the public interest for the ACCC to name names. If, in fact, some banks are better than others at protecting their customers from the seemingly growing army of scammers, this information shouldn’t be treated as a state secret. Meanwhile, as Christmas approaches, maybe the banks, as an act of seasonal goodwill, could send Mr Scrooge on long service leave and act to reimburse far more customers ripped off by the scammers, who must be laughing all the way to you know where. Nick Franklin, Katoomba

Attacks on PM an election tactic

I have noticed a string of Anthony Albanese pile-ons recently. This is a prime minister whose achievements in his first term stand in stark contrast to the three previous Coalition leaders of this country. Those who, through their close relationships with consultants, private enterprise and banks, allowed them to defraud customers, rort taxpayers’ money and failed to give proper care to our aged. They allowed unscrupulous private education facilities to exploit students and tradespeople, and the NDIS to be plundered. They undermined Medicare by freezing rebates, denied climate change and overlooked China’s growing influence in the Pacific, among many other failings. That Coalition is now led by one of the most negative opposition proponents, whose record shows his preparedness to exploit and hound people, such as the Biloela family, for vindictive political purposes while favouring his friends’ requests.

Now, this Labor prime minister, who has worked pretty hard for this country, buys a house at a price that would be considered modest among Coalition prime ministers and business leaders, and it’s a major affront to the Australian people. A Labor prime minister who is warmly welcomed around the world but at the same time accused of travelling overseas excessively. A Labor prime minister accused of being too close to Australian business and accepting upgrades from Qantas, although they were publicly declared (“Albanese defends Qantas flight upgrades”, October 28). A suspicious person could imagine that there is an election on the horizon as we witness this sudden onslaught of unfair attacks. Chris Gresham, Upper Lansdowne

Before everyone whips themselves up into a conspiracy-theory frenzy over Anthony Albanese getting a couple of upgrades a year from Qantas and the blocking of Qatar Airways, please note that the previous Coalition government also blocked a request from that airline to increase its presence in Australia. Graeme Finn, Earlwood

Lesson for Coalition

David Crowe rightly highlights that success for the Queensland LNP is unlikely to spell victory for the federal opposition (“Why Dutton has cause for concern” October 28). On climate and energy, in particular, a clear divide separates the Queensland LNP’s centrist approach – matching Labor’s 75 per cent emissions reduction by 2035 target and rejecting nuclear – from Peter Dutton’s lack of targets and his hollow nuclear fantasy. If the federal Coalition is serious about governing, it would do well to follow the sensible policy lead of its state counterparts. Sarah Brennan, Hawthorn

As David Crowe highlights, there are lessons for Peter Dutton in the Queensland election result. Regional and conservative voters came out in droves to support a party that continues to reject nuclear power and which earlier this year supported a strong 2035 emissions reductions target. Perhaps a centrist position has its merits, after all. Amy Hiller, Kew (Vic)

One of the significant things about the Queensland election is that the new conservative premier-elect and his party have ruled out nuclear power, while committing to an ambitious climate reduction target. This was accompanied by big swings to the LNP in the regions, less so in Brisbane, with policies that effectively endorse the continued roll-out of renewable energy. This could prove most controversial with federal Liberal and National colleagues, but it is consistent with how conservative governments ran South Australia and NSW in the recent past – accommodating projects that could get finance and deliver clean energy relatively quickly, along with upgrades to the transmission network. The lesson for Dutton is that what sounds like practical government getting on with the job is more attractive than nuclear zealotry. Jim Allen, Panorama (SA)

As a former Greens voter, I can only look on in dismay as this once promising party has descended into a nasty, spiteful, tantrum-throwing rabble under its current leadership (“Greens’ election flop gives Labor solace in defeat”, October 28). The Greens’ poor candidate choice, unwillingness to compromise, undeliverable promises and very little to say on environmental practicalities other than “No”, make me shake my head and question the party’s direction. Could the result in Queensland be a knell for them federally? Wayne Duncombe, Lilyfield

The Queensland election result merely highlighted the gulf between inner urban groups and the rest of us, whether outer suburbs or regional areas. The well-off inner-city group is largely progressive and tends to look down on others, whether it’s our views on climate or religion, or anything else that doesn’t fit the progressive agenda. Political parties that neglect the needs and beliefs of the outer suburbs and regions, whether in Brisbane or Sydney, will suffer at the ballot box. It’s time for more centrism, and less extremism, if the major parties want to get into, or stay in office. Look at what’s happening to the Greens. Vivienne Parsons, Thornleigh

Sunny outlook

My optimism has been doubly recharged today. I was boosted by the positive news that Singapore’s energy market authority has granted provisional approval for Mike Cannon-Brookes’ SunCable to send solar energy from the NT to Singapore (“SunCable’s 4300km power line clears big hurdle in Singapore”, October 27). And, in Queensland, by supporting incoming LNP premier David Crisafulli’s matching of Labor’s 75 per cent climate pollution reduction target by 2035, and his commitment to opposing nuclear, voters also endorsed sun-powered ambitions. Crisafulli is clear that there will be no costly Dutton-led nuclear power plants in sunny Queensland. It seems we’re daring to believe that we can, indeed must, make progress on the climate status quo. Cause for optimism indeed. Karen Campbell, Geelong (Vic)

There is a lot of concern that we may not be building enough wind, solar and battery installations to replace coal-fired plants in south-eastern Australia. So the pressure is on to use imported gas, despite being the world’s second or third-biggest exporter, to supply power. But Mike Cannon-Brookes thinks it’s okay to build a huge solar plant in the NT, say 2000 kilometres overland from the power grid, and export all that power 4300 kilometres undersea to Singapore. Makes perfect cents and dollars somewhere, I’m sure. Steven Lee, Faulconbridge

Mathematical solution

The crisis in maths education has been coming for a long time, when educational “experts” decided that student-centred learning should replace explicit teaching (“Maths crisis puts nation’s standing in jeopardy”, October 28.) Success in mathematics begins in primary school and requires that students are drilled in the basic principles such as times tables, so that recall is automatic. This can be attained only by explicit repetition, not by a group discussion. Effective maths teachers demonstrate each step in the process explicitly and then require that students practise and repeat this process independently. Unfortunately, decades of teaching by discovery has undermined this process to produce the crisis which now exists, despite protests from a generation of maths teachers. Max Redmayne, Drummoyne

It’s been reported that only 3.8 per cent of engineers in this country are women born in Australia. As long as the humanities believe that “critical thinking” is taught in an arts degree, Australia’s apparent aversion to numbers will go on. As a retired scientist, I think this is tragic, as mathematical thinking is so enjoyable. No wonder our politicians can be so vague in their arguments: they can say anything they like to an audience that hasn’t been taught and doesn’t enjoy thinking in numbers. As the greatest physical chemist, J Willard Gibbs, once said: “Mathematics is a language.” Noel Thompson, Riverview

Musk’s bad vision

Your writer William Bennett displays some very strange reasoning in his argument that Elon Musk deserves a Nobel prize for his technological brilliance (“‘Visionary’ Musk is back – we should be excited”’, October 28). He apparently believes that the benefits to humanity from his technology far outweigh the damage he is doing in his politics. Musk is bankrolling Donald Trump for president and using his social media company X to provide torrents of Trump-friendly disinformation, which may make the difference in a Trump win. Bennett may not realise it, but many people believe that a Trump win could spell the end of American democracy . The harm that would do far outweighs any possible benefits from technology. But in these Trumpian days, truth struggles.
Gary Barnes, Mosman

Bondi building

Judging by his support of high-rise apartment projects at Bondi Beach (“Bondi divided on density”, October 28), it’s clear Urban Taskforce chief executive Tom Forrest hasn’t visited recently. There are only two main roads into and out of Bondi Beach – Bondi Road and Old South Head Road. Three if you don’t mind going twice the distance via Rose Bay. Even 40 years ago, back in the 1980s, it was quicker to walk up to Bondi Junction than driving bumper-to-bumper at peak times. Unless the residents of his tower blocks are happy to remain in splendid isolation from the rest of Sydney, any such “plans” are ridiculously ignorant of present-day realities. Jennifer McKay, Ashbury

Dirty laundry

How come, in somewhere like Italy, washing hanging from balconies or on pulley lines outside apartment windows is a photographer’s dream, yet here in Australia it’s seen as dirty laundry? If no other alternative is provided, people should have the right to dry clothes on balconies. Once the sun goes down, the clothes go in (“Apartment dwellers push for right to air their clean laundry”, October 28). Lisa Clarke, Watsons Bay

Not everywhere in the world has a problem with the public airing of laundry. Every balcony I’ve been on in Osaka, Japan, has two built-in, fold-down metal fittings to hang clothes on, or run lines between. Neat, energy-efficient, below the railing and out of sight. Michael Berg, Randwick

Slap on the wrist

I’m appalled at the damp-lettuce sentences being gifted to convicted fraudsters (“Sydney lawyer jailed for forgery”, October 28). Last week we learned of a serial offender who had been jailed four times in 19 years (“This Sydney woman has been jailed four times for fraud. Now, she’s accused of stealing another $750k”, October 22). Many years ago, a commissioner of corrective services explained to his young audience of law students that his clients were mostly professional criminals. In his view, sentencing wasn’t for punishment or rehabilitation, it was simply to stop his clients from practising their damaging occupations for as long as reasonably possible. Today’s sentences are really all-expenses-paid short holidays, providing a relaxing break between long periods of professional crime. William S. Lloyd, Denistone

From the frontline

The Australian public have been unable to comprehend the scale and horror of the war in the Middle East, owing to a ban on news media in Gaza. It’s courageous of the Herald’s Kate Geraghty and Matthew Knott to give us some insight into the horrific toll on life, the dispossession and the despair in Gaza and Lebanon (“Return to rockets, refugees and rubble”, October 28). This catastrophe is the most savage and brutal I can recall. We must open our hearts and minds to those who seek refuge from the war. Vanessa Tennent, Oatley

Abbott logic

Correspondent Judy Hungerford makes a fundamental error in looking for logical consistency from Tony Abbott when she asks how he can justify his love of the British monarchy when its head is an avowed environmentalist who believes in climate change. (Letters, October 28). Throughout his political career, Abbott has demonstrated that displaying logical consistency is not the way he works. John Payne, Kelso

Buried treasure

Having read your recent article about funerals (“Forget the cost of living, what about the cost of dying?” , October 27), I was horrified to learn the cost of a burial plot at Waverley Cemetery is up to $100,000. Now, my parents are buried there; a nice garden plot, central location, wonderful view, easy walking distance to famous neighbours, it’s an absolute gold mine just waiting to have strata subdivision – although I think Mum would not like the idea. Warren Scanlon, Ballina

Credit kids

Your correspondent asks if five-year-olds are going to need a credit card for the school canteen (Letters, October 28). Well, actually, yes. My six-year-old grandson already has a special preloaded “Munch Monitor” card to use at his cashless school canteen. Alison Stewart, Riverview

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